Military Sea Hawkers

The military chapter of the official booster club of the Seattle Seahawks

Wilson throws 3 TDs, gets 3rd road victory in 34-22 win

It’s games like this where it makes one particularly proud to be a member of the 12th Man and a fan of the Seahawks. Not only did we see some outstanding play on the field and a team that overcame some adversity on the road, but Seahawks fans showed up huge in Phoenix.

Throughout the pregame you could hear the SEA-HAWKS chants reign down throughout the stadium. Then, following the 34-22 win over the Cardinals, fans stuck around to wait to see Russell Wilson come out an get interviewed by the NFL Network crew. They jokingly questioned if they were in Arizona or Seattle.

For the first time in franchise history, the Seahawks are out to a 6-1 start and the defense put together another dominating performance. Earl Thomas and Brandon Browner each came up with an interception, and the Seahawks secondary held Larry Fitzgerald to two catches for 17 yards.

What may have been more impressive is that the defensive line sacked Carson Palmer seven times. It wasn’t one guy getting after him consistently either—eight different players shared in the effort.

That same defensive line played a big part in shutting down Arizona’s run game. The Cardinals finished with a total of 30 yards on the ground.

On offense, the Seahawks got out to another quick start similar to how they played on the road in Indianapolis. On the first drive, Wilson hit Sidney Rice on a 31-yard touchdown pass. Next, he found Zach Miller in the back of the end zone for a 15-yard score.

But, also like in the Indy game, the Seahawks faltered in the second quarter. This leads to a couple criticisms about the game. First, was the fact that Wilson fumbled three times and lost the ball twice.

It allowed the Cardinals to score 10 easy points., including Arizona’s first touchdown of the game to bring the score to 14-10. The Seahawks defense was able to hold the Cardinals to a field goal in the fourth quarter, but by then Seattle had the game sewn up.

Second, on special teams, Mike Morgan’s block in the back nullified a 54-yard punt return by Golden Tate. It was one of those blocks that had no impact on the outcome of the play. It would have topped off a huge day for Tate who also had four catches for 77 yards and it kept Seattle from going up 21-0 early in the second quarter.

Lastly, at the end of the second half, after getting inside the red zone. The Seahawks finished off the half with two penalties on the offensive line that pushed Steven Hauschka back to a 51-yard field goal.

After seeing field goal opportunities turn into touchdowns for the opposing team, this felt like it might have been another one of those moments. Instead, the Hauschka splits the uprights and Seattle goes into halftime up 17-10.

The Cardinals were able to make it a four-point game, but then Seattle took over. Wilson made an incredible six-yard pass to Miller on third down to keep their second 80-yard scoring drive alive. Marshawn Lynch followed with two great runs that got the team inches from the goal line.

When Arizona got the ball back, the defensive line’s pressure on Palmer led to Browner’s first interception of the season. On the return, Browner was brought down on the 1-yard line by nobody in particular.

Lynch had no problem finishing the job for the defense by punching it in from there. Up 31-13 at that point, the Seahawks were able to coast to a 34-22 victory.

After winning close games in the fourth quarter, it was nice to see the Seahawks able to get a double-digit win over a division opponent. On top of that, it was in a building they were 1-6 in over the previous seven years.

One moment of the game I was impressed with was a block where Fitzgerald lit up Sherman on a block. It was similar to last year’s block by Tate on Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee, but not quite as devastating.

In a show of sportsmanship, Fitz asked Sherman if he was okay and Richard gave him a congratulatory slap on the helmet. It was clear there was a feeling of mutual respect between these two players.

The Seahawks will have plenty of time to prepare for their next road game. Up next is the St. Louis Rams in another prime time NFC West matchup, this time on Monday Night Football.

By dominating the Cardinals in the second half, the Seahawks were getting a lot of hype after the game as the best team in the NFC. Considering that they have Percy Harvin coming back and the hopes that the offensive line will be back to full strength, it makes it very easy to get excited about the rest of the season.